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Command Crew Positions
Fleet Positions Battlegroup Commander The CCBG is typically a Rear Admiral. He is the Immediate Superior in Command (ISIC) to the carrier, air wing, destroyer squadron, and cruiser commanding officers assigned to the battle group. As such, he is responsible for unit-level training, integrated training, and readiness for assigned ships and units, as well as maintaining administrative functions and material readiness tracking for ships and squadrons assigned to the group. Taskforce Commander Sometimes a task might require fighter support, so a carrier taskforce is deployed, rather than a destroyer squadron Squadron Commander The squadron commander takes charge of a Destroyer Squadron within the battlegroup. Flag Captain A Flag Captain is an officer who is in command of the flagship leading a Destroyer Squadron, Carrier Taskforce or Carrier Battlegroup. Flag Lieutenant The flag lieutenant, like an aide-de-camp in the Army, is considered to be a flag officer's personal assistant or secretary. Fleet Warfare Officer In charge of battle management, coordination of the group's firing plan and interpretation of combat intelligence. This position is taken by the Principal Warfare Officer of the flag ship. Fleet Operations Officer Coordinating manoeuvres with the other ships. Deck Department Commanding Officer The Commanding Officer (CO) is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities (for example, the use of force, finances, equipment, the Geneva Conventions), duties (to higher authority, mission effectiveness, duty of care to personnel) and powers (for example, discipline and punishment of personnel within certain limits of military law). In some countries, commanding officers may be of any commissioned rank; usually there are more officers than command positions available, and time spent in command is generally a key aspect of promotion, so the role of commanding officer is highly valued and in theory only goes to the best officers. An Executive Officer (XO), who handles personnel and day-to-day matters, often assists the commanding officer. Larger units may also have staff officers of various responsibilities. Although a Commanding Officer would usually come from the Warfare stream, an officer with other training can take the Advanced Warfare Course at the same time as the Commanding Officer's Course. Executive Officer As in the units of many military forces, the Executive Officer (XO) is the second-in-command, reporting to the Commanding Officer (CO). The XO is typically responsible for the management of day-to-day activities, such as maintenance and logistics, freeing the CO to concentrate on warfare planning and execution. The XO also takes charge in the absence of the CO. While the experience gained as an XO is highly beneficial for an officer's professional development, never serving in the position will not preclude an officer from commanding later. An Executive Officer is sometimes referred to as First or Number One. The XO of a Intrepid class Destroyer and higher has the rank of Captain, because he serves as the Flag Captain, in a Carrier Battlegroup, Carrier Task Force or Destroyer Task Force (The only exception to that rule is the position of Flag Captain on the Excelsior class Super Carrier, held by a Commodore). The Executive Officer will generally alternate command duty with the CO, allowing each to have some time off duty. When the Executive Officer is on duty they are able to countermand orders given by the CO, however, they will generally not do this without prior discussion. Second Officer The second officer assumes command of the ship if both the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer are unavailable. However, as SO is a nominal position, they are department head first and foremost. As anyone with aspirations of command must have come through the Warfare Department, or at least taken the Initial Warfare Officer's Course, the head of the Warfare Department, the Principal Warfare Officer is designated the Second Officer. Warfare Department Principal Warfare Officer A "Principal" Warfare Officer is distinguished from other Warfare Officers as they have successfully taken the Commanding Officer's Course. The PWO also holds the position of Second Officer and as such, they are ranked one step above the other Warfare Officers. Warfare Officer The Warfare Officer is stationed in the Action Information Centre. They double as Security Chief and work with marines in the Blue Section to maintain law and order on the ship or base (assisted by the Executive Warrant Officer). The Warfare Officer is nicknamed "Guns", although only the less conservative officers address them by that name. Assistant Warfare Officer The AWO, generally the most junior commissioned officer in the Warfare Department (except when the JWO is a Midshipman) maintains shield readiness. Junior Warfare Officer In ships Scimitar class and smaller, the Junior Warfare Officer is the Executive Warrant Officer and as such, fills the duties of the Boatswain. In the bigger ships, the Boatswain is the senior Warfare Specialist. In combat, the JWO manages the ship's electronics warfare suite. When not in action, the Junior Warfare Officer assists the Astrogation Officer. Communications Officer The formal title for this role is Communication and Information Systems Specialist (this title is still used for non-commissioned communications officers). Using highly sensitive radio and satellite systems, you communicate with units on land, as well as other ships. You will handle orders and other information for those in command – a lot of it will be classified top secret. You will also handle routine supply requests and other essential day-to-day communications. Sending out battle instructions to a fleet; decoding highly secret messages from HQ; being the only line of communication between the world and a civilian vessel in distress, it is all in a day’s work for a Communications Officer. Operations Department Operations Officer Head of the Operations Department, with a station on the bridge and status as an Officer of the Watch. At both a fleet and individual level, the Ops officer will liase with other ships in the squadron to coordinate tactical and operational plans. Logistics Officer As a Logistics Officer, you’ll be responsible for making sure your ship has everything it needs, when it needs it, to stay effective on operations. Leading a team of highly-trained specialists, you’ll apply your organisational skills to stock your ship with up to six months’ worth of supplies and equipment before leaving port, as well as drawing up plans for re-supplying at sea and on shore during the deployment. You’ll be advising your Commanding Officer on how long materiel (weapons, equipment, spares and so on) and catering supplies will last, as well as personnel policy, legal and accountancy matters. When the ship goes into action, you’ll lead battle damage-control and first-aid teams. It’s a challenging but essential role that puts you at the very heart of everything we do, whether it’s providing humanitarian aid, enforcing international law or mounting joint combat operations. Chief of Staff The Chief of Staff is the chief aide to the commander of larger military formations and units. However, it is sometimes the case that the Chief of Staff is in fact far more powerful than the theoretical commander. This is usually the case if the commander is a ceremonial head of the armed forces such as a Head of State. With 35 officers and ratings, the Supply Department is responsible for feeding clothing and paying the Ship's Company. The department is split into five main areas. The Writers, in addition to their secretarial duties cover pay, cash and service documentation. The Stores Accountants supply every department with virtually all their daily requirements, whether it is a bunk light, an item for a shuttle or organising a replacement engine. The task of feeding everyone falls on the catering sub-department, who decide on the menus, provide the stores and produce three meals a day for the personnel. The Stewards provide hotel services for the Wardroom. Finally, the ship has a NAAFI shop, which sells virtually everything from chocolate bars, through souvenirs to stereo systems. The Logistics Officer and Supply Officer report directly to the Chief of Staff. Also, the Flag Lieutenant works directly with the Chief of Staff, operating as the Squadron Leader’s Aide-de-Camp, while the Chief of Staff handles staff logistics aboard the ship. Counsellor A Counsellor is a position aboard Alliance vessels and installations, usually held by a senior Alliance officer with training in psychology. Qualified psychiatrists served aboard starships during the 22nd century. By the mid-23rd century, all starship and base crews included a Counsellor, who was responsible for the mental well-being of the crew and civilian staff. As such, they serve in a pastoral care role also. The position was considered vital enough that it warranted inclusion in the senior staff of the Alliance flagship; in that instance at least, the ship's counsellor also had a diplomatic role. As with the Chief Medical Officer, the ship's Counsellor has the power to relieve other officers and crewmembers of duty if he or she feels that their patient is suffering from a condition that may hinder their ability to perform their duties effectively. The counsellor has also taken over the pastoral care duties of a Chaplain in the past. Training Management Officer The TMO makes sure ratings and officers have the skills, knowledge and qualifications they need to do their demanding, technical jobs. An Education Officer in the Fleet, you are very much hands-on, providing education opportunities for personnel serving at sea. Training Management Officers develop training programmes, as well as analyse jobs, training needs, courses and teaching standards. While the TMO was once part of the Engineering Department, the role became necessary in other departments, and now falls under the heading of Operations. Engineering Department Chief Engineer The Chief Engineer is in charge of all of the engineers and engineering duties. The Chief Engineer's duties range from making the duty shift roster for engineering personnel to advising the Captain on possible solutions for certain technical problems. In general, the Chief Engineer is an officer with enough experience in his or her own field of expertise and with seniority over the rest of the engineers. A Chief Engineer is also a member of the senior staff and accountable for the overall performance of the vessel. The Captain of a Federation starship has the prerogative to appoint someone to the post of Chief Engineer even if he or she does not have the seniority, which normally would apply to this function. Persons with vast experience and engineering knowledge but no appropriate rank could be appointed as Chief Engineer in this manner. Annual entry-level salaries are set at $40,000. The Engineering Department heads assist the Chief Engineer, but they do not have command crew status. Below them are the Senior Technicians (Mechanical, Electronics, Weapons or Flight) Assistant Engineer (Damage Control Officer) While the Chief Engineer has a position on the bridge, the DCO is based in the engineering department. Typically a Warrant Officer or Senior NCO, they will have junior NCOs leading each department. Electronics Engineer Officer Developed from the original position of Information Systems Engineer, the EEO also fixes standard electrical systems such as lights, air conditioning etc. Mechanical Engineer Officer A Mechanical Engineer Officer leads a team of highly-skilled Mechanical Engineering Technicians, with responsibility for the ship’s power and propulsion systems, including gas turbines, diesel engines and high-voltage systems as well as their associated control systems. Working alongside specialists in Weapon Engineering, Warfare and Logistics, you will also be responsible for the hull, water, refrigeration, air and hydraulics systems, vital for sustaining the ship during exercises, deployments or operations. In an emergency or in action, you have the central role in the ship’s damage-control and fire fighting organisation. On shore you will have a wide range of career-development opportunities such as leading and managing technical projects, working with industry partners to develop new equipment, roles in human resources and home support to front-line operations. You may even serve on an operational tour supporting the reconstruction and stabilisation efforts. It’s engineering on a massive scale with responsibilities and rewards to match. We will help you manage your career and you will get to choose jobs that play to your strengths and also broaden your ability. This will then help to prepare you for future promotion. Weapons Engineer Officer Leading a multi-disciplinary team of skilled technicians and using a broad understanding of system engineering, you will experience the thrill and challenge of being a central member in the team responsible for bringing together the fighting capability of the ship. You will work with some of the world’s most advanced defence systems and highly qualified and motivated teams in a demanding and dynamic environment. You will work alongside Mechanical Engineering, Warfare and Logistics specialists and lead and manage experts in communications, IT, explosives and electronic sensor systems. You will prioritise and guide their work to achieve the ship’s mission and be responsible for their development, career progression and welfare. On shore, a wide range of career development opportunities will be available to you. You could be leading and managing technical projects, working with industry partners to develop new equipment, working in human resources or providing home support to frontline operations. The Conn Conn Officer The Conn Officer (also known as Conn or Flight Controller) is the crewperson on a Federation starship assigned the duty of piloting the vessel. This position was also sometimes referred to as helmsman in the past (the title remains on civilian vessels). Astrogation Officer The Astrogation Officer works with the Conn Officer to best plot a course between two points in space. They must take into account the relative positions of planets and other obstructions when travelling in hyperspace. The Astrogation Officer is qualified to take over the conn if the Conn Officer becomes unavailable. Medical Department Chief Medical Officer The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is a medical professional, typically a physician who is the highest-ranking member of a Federation installation or vessel's medical staff. As well as being a doctor, they are a member of the Royal Navy’s senior management team. They can specialise in a major discipline, like surgery, medicine, anaesthetics, orthopaedic surgery or primary care. There are, of course, plenty of opportunities to practice occupational medicine. They can practice on shore, on board ships, fly in transports, or even win yourself the coveted green beret of a Royal Marines Commando as a field medic. This officer occupies a unique position, having complete authority over any patient in placed in his or her care even when it is a superior officer until deemed fit for duty. In addition, if in his or her professional judgment the CMO deems a person in the officer's assigned area or vessel as medically unfit, that officer can remove even a superior officer from duty until that person's condition improves. On the Excelsior class, the CMO heads up a team of six staff (per eight hour shift) to take care of 53 beds. The Chief Medical Officer has a number of Medical Officers and Nursing Officers to assist in the oversight of the Medical Department. Nursing Officer The Nursing Officer leads a team that provides medical support to personnel in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Commandos. Alongside their clinical work, Nursing Officers are responsible for managing and mentoring junior nurses. They alsoundertake specialist courses in areas such as Intensive Care, Operating theatres, Emergency Medicine, Orthopaedics, Primary Care and Mental Health. Marine Detachment Detachment Leader Operational commander for the marines stationed on a ship or base. Detachment 2IC second in command to the detachment leader, the 2IC operates in the same fashion as the executive officer, rotating the duty roster with their CO. Troop Leader On a larger ship, the marine detachment will be divided into three troops, designated Red; Blue and Gold. They are usually ranked Lieutenant or 2nd Lieutenant. On smaller ships, there is no designated Troop Leader, as the entire detachment is one troop. Section Leader Each troop is divided into two sections, Alpha and Bravo. The section leader is a 2nd Lieutenant on the capital ships, a sergeant on the smaller combat units and a corporal on the Corvettes and Patrol Boats. Fleet Air Arm Air Traffic Control Officer As an Air Traffic Control Officer, you’ll be part of the team responsible for maintaining the ‘safe and expeditious flow of air traffic’. To achieve it in a sky full of commercial airliners, private planes and many other aircraft is a complex process even in peacetime. Add in the complications of political tension, natural disaster, conflict or bad weather and it’s easy to see why you’ll need a cool head and excellent analytical, communication and decision-making skills. They’ll be equally vital whether you’re operating at a busy surface base or controlling the fleet of shuttles and fast jets on board an aircraft carrier. In both cases, you’ll rely on highly sophisticated radar and communications systems and the skilled team around you to keep the skies safe for everyone. Air Engineer Officer Air Engineer Officers lead the team that keeps the aircraft in a state of constant air-readiness. This means maintaining, updating and testing highly sophisticated propulsion, weapons, navigation, communications and control systems. In this technically demanding job, you are ultimately responsible for the people who keep the Royal Navy flying. On an operational squadron, you’ll lead a team maintaining, updating, fitting and testing sophisticated propulsion, weapons, navigation, communications and control systems and keeping the aircraft constantly ready to fly from either ships or airfields. You will also be responsible for maintaining the airworthiness of the aircraft you operate. You may also work in a support and acquisition role. This means you will be a project manager, putting safety management schemes in place, or buying and delivering new systems, solutions and equipment in the aerospace industry. You could even serve on an operational tour in Afghanistan, supporting reconstruction and stabilisation efforts. Whatever direction you follow, you’ll need technical expertise and acumen of the highest order and leadership skills to match. We’ll help you develop both of these throughout your career. Air Crew Officer (Pilot) When you put on your ‘wings’ as a Fleet Air Arm Pilot, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve completed one of the most demanding training programmes in aviation. But this is where the real challenges begin. Operating from ships at sea and land bases around the world, you’ll be flying over hostile territory and inhospitable terrain, with ultimate responsibility for the safety of your aircraft and your crew, as well as your mission. If you’re flying shuttles, you’ll develop the skills you’ll need to drop a troop of Royal Marines Commandos, and their equipment, into action, carry out surveillance and anti-submarine operations and fly reconnaissance missions (missions to gather information) over land and sea. As a fast jet Pilot, you’ll have the flying and tactical skills needed for manoeuvres at speeds well over 1000 mph. It’s a challenging and demanding career choice, but one that brings huge professional and personal rewards. Air Crew Officer (Navigator) Also known as an Aircrew Officer Observer. One of the most demanding and complex jobs in aviation, responsible for navigation and weapons systems. After gaining a thorough grounding in air safety navigation, tactics, and radar, you’ll go on to train for your specialist role on one of the Fleet Air Arm’s three types of shuttle. On the Albatross, your skills in air, ground and stellar surveillance, aircraft control and command will put you at the heart of our operations. On the dragonfly, you’ll sit alongside the Pilot, operating a range of sophisticated detection equipment and weapons systems, including missiles and torpedoes. It’s a challenging career choice but one that brings huge professional and personal rewards. Station Positions Base Commander Enlisted Positions S